Meatballs: Part 3

 

Next stop on our journey...meatballs with an Asian influence.

We really liked these meatballs. I would suggest adding a little soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to the rice for some extra flavor.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice

Ingredients:

Coarse salt
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 carrot, shredded
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 1/2 pounds ground dark-meat turkey or ground pork
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 teaspoons fish sauce (or you could use soy sauce or teriyaki sauce)
4 teaspoons hot-pepper sauce (preferably Sriracha)
4 teaspoons sugar
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice, stir, and return to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and top with carrot. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes, then stir in carrot and fluff rice with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and 3 tablespoons water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, scallion whites, cilantro, fish sauce (or soy or teriyaki sauce), hot-pepper sauce, sugar, garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Gently mix to combine and form into 12 meatballs.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high. In batches, brown meatballs on all sides, 10 minutes total (add up to 1 teaspoon oil as needed). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until cooked through, 10 minutes. Serve meatballs with rice, scallion greens, and lime wedges.

Source: Everyday Food, November 2010. You can find it here.

Notes: I had to improvise a little when I made these. My cilantro, unbeknownst to me, had gone bad in my fridge, so I had to use dried cilantro. It definitely would have been better with the fresh cilantro. I also forgot to top the rice with the green parts of the scallions. Oh, and I completely forgot about using limes. All of those things would have made these meatballs even better...which is saying something because these meatballs were awesome.

I used teriyaki sauce in place of the fish sauce. I had fish sauce on hand, but my boys are allergic to everything and I figured it would be just my luck that they would end up being allergic to fish too and happen to have an allergic reaction while eating meatballs that night. I know that is ridiculous. I know I need to just get them each another appointment with the allergist to check on their status. At any rate, that is the call I made. The meatballs were great with teriyaki sauce. We tossed the rice in additional teriyaki sauce as well.

Oh, and just so you know, the Sriracha gives the meatballs a pinkish color. Don't worry, they are fully cooked!

I also baked the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes. I just wasn't in the mood to get a pan dirty for the meatball browning process. It was one of those nights, I guess!